Both participating in a panel moderated by ESPN’s Jeff Goodman, they had a brief opportunity to reminisce about an Atlantic 10 conference meeting last season. Discussing how UMass might have finished one win short of the NCAA tournament, Kellogg looked at his former opponent: “By the way, thank you for coming in (to the Mullins Center on senior night) and beating us.”

But much has changed since then, mostly for Stevens, who the Celtics hired away from Butler in July to replace Doc Rivers. Rather than meeting Stevens again this season, Kellogg will watch him from afar, intrigued like many other coaches to see how the baby-faced wonder adapts to his new league.

“I’d like to see him personally do well – one, being a Celtics fan, but two, being a college coach,” said Kellogg. “We’d like to show that a guy can make that jump, and we do some good things in the college game. I think he’s a good torchbearer for our profession, one because of how he carries himself, two is his acumen for the game is fantastic. Great family man and does all things the right way. Other than at times maybe wins or losses, I don’t think you can go wrong with a guy like that.”

Ah, wins and losses. Those pesky measurements of performance that will ultimately help determine whether Stevens lasts in the NBA. Right now he looks great – a prized mixture of humility, intellect and hoops devotion, ready to tackle the new challenge of professional basketball. But Kellogg has seen a former boss chewed up by the NBA.

John Calipari, now at Kentucky, coached Kellogg at UMass in the 1990s, then, beginning in 2000, used him as an assistant coach at Memphis for almost a decade. In between, Calipari served briefly as the New Jersey Nets head coach, getting fired after starting the 1998-99 campaign 3-17. Calipari’s record over two-plus seasons in New Jersey was an ugly 72-112.

Reminding reporters with a laugh that Calipari did make the playoffs one year with the Nets, Kellogg suggested Stevens will need time.

“With the situation he’s been thrust into, he’s going to need a little bit of time to make sure the roster is where it needs to be, because the NBA, as much as it is about coaches, it’s a player’s league, and you need to have the All-Stars or the stars,” said Kellogg. “And I think in ample time he’s going to do a good job, because from what I’ve understood about the NBA, is if they respect your acumen, if they respect that you know the game, they’re going to play for you and compete for you. From all indications of coaching against him and watching him take Butler to Final Fours, I think he definitely does know the game. (He) has a lot of great side out-of-bounds stuff, OB unders (inbound plays from underneath the basket), late-game situations – he’s a very intellectual basketball coach, and the players will respect him for that.”

Kellogg has always admired Stevens’ work, but got a closer look into his coaching style this past year, and came away more impressed than ever.

“Defensively I thought they did a great job of taking your best, or couple best, players out of your style of play, or out of your system,” Kellogg said. “I thought they did a fantastic job of really getting (star UMass point guard) Chaz (Williams) and making the game hard on him. (Stevens) had a lot of good schemes defensively that I thought were kind of ingenious for the college game. He did some great things that I thought made it difficult for us. And then the precision on offense of how they shared the basketball, how they moved and cut really hard and quick. It wasn’t fun to coach against him, but it was definitely a challenge, and I think while we all continue to learn, it was a good learning experience being on the opposite bench.”

Asked how Stevens, whose Butler teams weren’t exactly run-and-gun, should adjust offensively to a quicker pace, Kellogg said, “I think basketball in this day is basketball. A lot of coaches are changing ideas, from the college guys to the pros, to even the international game. I think he’ll have to implement and play a little faster because of the 24-second clock, but he’ll have better players, so I think a lot of his quick-hitters – you know, I’ve read some stuff that Brad has talked about, and a lot of the plays that he actually used in college were ones he would watch from NBA games the night before, or spending time with Mark Few with the USA basketball. And that’s been good for me because I plan to use some of the same stuff.”

“Brad has always been a professional,” Kellogg added. “I think he’s done a great job of reaching out to other coaches. The one thing I really respect about him, other than his personality and the way he’s been with people, is that he’s a great basketball mind. I really respected him from watching him as a coach from afar, and even more so when we competed against him this past season. He’s a guy I think brings great character and credibility to the Celtics program, and I think we’re all rooting for him and happy for him – especially the college guys that have spent time with him, that have competed against him, and realize how dedicated he is not only to his profession and the game of basketball, but also to his family and community.”

Indicating that Stevens will allow some college coaches into Celtics training camp, Kellogg said he’s excited for the opportunity.

“It’ll be a really good learning experience for a lot of coaches in the area, to watch how he runs his practice, controls and runs his program, and different things along those lines,” Kellogg said. “He’s very (much) a guy that shares. I’m always a big fan of coaches that share ideas and spend time together, and are willing to talk basketball. I learned from one of the greats that that’s a great way to do business, in coach (John Calipari), and now to have a guy like Brad here, who’s willing to share and be open, I think it’s great for college basketball and professional basketball in the New England area.”

“I think Stevens has an undercover funny personality,” Kellogg said. “But more than that he’s an even-keeled guy that is very articulate, and you can tell he’s highly-educated when you speak to him. I think he has a very good way about him, and he carries himself like a guy who can be an NBA coach. He carries himself like a high-level college coach in the way he presents himself, always has professionalism. Always would be the first one to try to come to you and say hello. I mean, we’re bumping into each other because we’re both trying to say hello first.

"But I think – you watch how he carried the room today – he’s the head coach of the Boston Celtics but he’s coming up to all the college coaches, and talking to them and spending time with them. I think he’s good for basketball, and definitely good for the city.”